The Badger: Northern Star
by rlucain
Summary: After Zuko's younger sister is written off the will, he is the sole heir to the Vanston fortune. Unfortunately, Azula's willing to kill for what she considers her birthright, no matter who it is. AU, Toko, 1920s-esque crime noir type thing with gritty content. Eventual lemons will ensue. Also, warning, this is my first venture into this genre.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_**Northern Star**_  
_The Badger Series #1_

* * *

_Every man needs a woman when his life is a mess;  
__Because just like in a game of chess;  
__the QUEEN protects the KING_

* * *

**I** never wanted for much growing up. My parents were both well respected, and made a good deal of money working for the government. Nothing ever terribly bad happened throughout my life, save for my uncle Iroh and cousin Lu Ten dying mysteriously in a fire about ten years prior. My father had good bodyguards, as did the rest of us, and nothing ever happened to our immediate family. Well, no, there was that one time a burglar got in with a gun, but Surya managed to down the robber pretty quick.

My sister changed as we got older. She used to be carefree and content, but something... snapped, I guess. She became violent, cruel, even. My mother said there was already something evil in her from the day she was born, and unfortunately, for some reason, Azula chose to feed it instead of starve it. When I turned eighteen, her sixteen, she fell in with the wrong crowd, or so our parents say, and became one of the most vicious criminals our nation had ever seen. Supposedly, she was routed by law enforcement, and ran to the Earth Kingdom.

I guess that's why my parents followed. Not long after Azula left the Fire Nation, our parents did too, settling down in the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se. I suppose that's how this happened. Maybe Azula knew they'd followed her, as much as I suspected, maybe she got scared they were going to turn her in to authorities. My parents just wanted to talk.

"I'm terribly sorry," the man I'd never seen before was saying. "But, your honourable parents have been found burned to a crisp and shot in the street. Authorities are on the case. Their remains will be returned to you -" Blah blah blah...

I stopped hearing him about after 'burned to a crisp.' Only my sister would do that, and I knew it. After that, it was all funeral arrangements and which flowers to decorate the funeral home with, and whether they were to be buried as is or cremated properly, and who to invite. I'm not entirely sorry to admit that I had very little interest in it after that. My sister had just killed our parents, there wasn't much else on my mind.

I didn't cry. I knew they wouldn't really want me to, and crying over it wouldn't necessarily solve anything, either. But it didn't really help the heavy weight that eventually settled itself, right in the middle of my chest, it felt like, and refused to go away. I knew what it was. I wasn't really a stranger to sadness, despite being somewhat sheltered for most of my life.

My career was just taking off. I'd graduated from a prestigious college, and was starting my career in criminal justice. My mother wanted me to be a doctor, but I thought a lawyer sounded more interesting. Well, for now at least. I had the ability to dabble in various things, and I fully intended to, until I found something I was actually interested in.

But now my parents were gone, the guiding lights I had to find my way through the tunnels of uncertainty, and I wasn't entirely sure how to handle that. It may not have been so bad, if I had actual friends, but, it's a little hard to make true friends when you were the sole heir to a fortune. Azula's criminal activity led to our parents taking her off the will - all of their money and assets were going to go to me. It was strange then, in a way, remembering that. I suppose there was her motive. They'd slighted her what she considered her birthright as a Vanston by taking her off the will.

And now they were dead. And I couldn't solidly prove it was her.

* * *

**I** still didn't cry. Even as the day drew closer, the day my parents would be set in their slots in the wall and gone forever. Surya tried to cheer me up a little, and kept poking in with a latte or hot chocolate. He was close friends with my mother. I think he loved her, still did even when she was gone, in his way, and felt like he had a personal duty to look after me when she and my father were gone. He certainly took his position as my father's bodyguard quite seriously. It was always strange to me, how his love for my mother was very apparent, and yet he gave his everything to protecting my father, the man that had her love.

Or, maybe there were things that went on behind closed doors I never heard about. But those are things I think I still didn't want to know about, so I wouldn't ask.

Surya found me eventually, hours before the funeral rites, staring at the open slots on the stone wall in the mausoleum. Soon enough, those holes would be filled with their ashes, plaques with their names plated on covering the gaping wounds in the stone, where another person's heart was buried. Maybe two peoples' hearts - Surya's was probably, at least in part, going with the part of mine.

_Here lies Ozai and Ursa Vanston_, the plaques would read. _One more sad story to add to the library_. Okay, no, it was a little poem my mother had written years before going on the plaques. But my rendition sounded more accurate.

"You okay?" Surya asked, quiet in the hallowed place. I was quiet for a long time. Eventually, I think I snorted and shook my head.

"No," I said. "My parents are dead, my sister's gone, my uncle's gone, I have no friends, I have no _life_, come to think, and now I'm a millionaire. What point is all the money in the world, if there's nothing to do with it?"

Surya hummed, partially in understanding, it seemed, and partially in amusement. "Your mother asked the same questions once."

"Did she?" I hadn't heard anything about it.

"You know Ozai isn't a Vanston by blood," Surya explained. "The inheritance came from your mother. She, of course, has been a millionaire since birth, and had no siblings, so eventually inherited the fortune when her parents passed away before her. She asked me once, what's the point in having all this money, if I have nothing else?" Surya paused, seemingly a little sad. "Well, a few years later, she married Ozai, had you and Azula. So, maybe you just need to find something worth using the money for."

"I'd rather put it away," I replied. I didn't have any use for it anyway. I had everything I wanted, grades good enough to get right into school with no trouble, no friends. I had a car, but I didn't bother driving it.

Surya smiled. "Maybe you should," he agreed. "Put it away in a bank somewhere, and go out there, and find something that makes you happy, and give it everything you've got. Sometimes, the fortune's worth it, if you've earned it."

"Hardly anyone makes a fortune toughing it out." And it was true, what I said. Very few had ever gotten rich that way. The Vanstons only were because a great grandfather had invented motor vehicles. What a fantastic invention that was.

"Maybe not," Surya answered. "But you know, making a fortune doesn't always mean being filthy rich."

Now I was just confused. I thought sometimes, it was kind of a good thing Surya wasn't my father, because he'd have confused me stupid. My father was a straight-forward kind of guy, but Surya sometimes said things that made the little gears in my head take a spin down what the fuck lane. Sometimes, it was a good thing, but more often than not, it was just frustrating.

"Try it," Surya suggested. "Just put all the money in a bank, or buy bonds and stuff them in a safe somewhere, so you're not even tempted to take it all back out. Leave a little bit in the bank, so if you really need it, you've got it. And then just go out there and be somebody. Try a few jobs on for size, check out the nightlife, meet some people. Live a little. Cause sometimes, you have to figure out who you aren't, to learn who you are." Surya turned then, with a wry smile on his face, and shuffled up the mausoleum stairs.

My gaze went back to the holes in the wall. And despite my still seeing them as gaping wounds in the stone, the idea of them didn't hurt so much. Surya also once told me, that people lived forever, not by never dying, but by the things they passed down through generations. Our race learned by teaching one another. And if there was anything that my parents had taught me, it was that there were many different ways of life, none of them better or worse than any others, and that a life alone wasn't a life at all.

Eventually, I followed Surya up the stairs. In a few hours, I'd have to see my parents in the wall. And maybe accepting it would make it stop hurting as much.

* * *

**S**trangely, it didn't rain. It felt like it should have, to match the mood of the situation, but it didn't. In stark contrast to the entire ordeal, the sky was clear, it was a fairly lovely day, the wind was blowing, but it wasn't that terrible. And I was still upset, but somehow the weather made it a little easier to take my place near my parents' urns, porcelain and gold and side by side, surrounded by flowers of all kinds, shaking hands with everyone that came up to offer words of support. Most of them, it felt like, really didn't give a damn that my parents were gone, they just wanted me to marry their daughters or something.

Either that, or I was feeling particularly bitter. To be fair, I probably was.

The minister gave a short speech, talking about my parents' many accomplishments in life, and how my mother was a very generous, compassionate woman, and they'd both be so sorely missed. I didn't hear a word of it, to be completely honest. I was a little zoned out, listening to my mother sing in my head. That song she used to hum when Azula and I couldn't get to sleep. It'd been beautiful then - it was even more so now that she was gone.

Surya was still there, lingering nearby. He'd gone to say his last farewells to my parents, probably mostly my mother, and then came to stand near me and never went away. Somehow, I found his presence a bit comforting, and I think Surya had figured I might. He was observant, sometimes scarily so, and it really wasn't difficult to pick out his sons - they were a lot like him. He had three, from what I remembered. Agneya, a Waterbender, Jiva, an Airbender, and Suyis, a Firebender like him. Funny how they'd almost gotten one of each of the elements.

The procession began soon enough. I was after the pallbearers, carrying my parents' urns to their final resting place, across the cemetery yard to the mausoleum. I didn't notice anything had gone wrong until Surya randomly threw himself over me. And then I heard the gunfire.

"Zuzu!" a feminine voice called over the screaming. The guests and cemetery staff scattered. "Oh Zuzu! How could you have their funeral, and not invite your adorable little sister? How rude!" Azula. Of course it was Azula. She couldn't wait for a better time to go on her little gunfire spree.

"We have to go now," Surya whispered. "She hasn't found you yet."

"But, the funeral's not -"

"All due respect, Mr. Vanston, your parents are already gone. Now let's go, before your funeral's next," Surya urged. With one swift, practised movement, he had me up on my feet and moving, before I realised I was no longer in the grass. Gunshots sounded several more times. I think Azula and her irritating friends, Mai Fulmar and Ty Lee Linahan, were just shooting at anyone within range. The good thing about guns I guess, is the farther from your target you were, the higher your chances got of missing said target. Several times, I heard Ty Lee apologise for shooting someone.

"Sorry!" she'd call, letting her assault rifle hang off one arm. "I didn't mean to hit that! I was aiming for something else!" Ty Lee was a terrible shot - but she was unfortunately the kind of terrible shot that would aim for your leg, and hit your chest. The funny, or not so funny, thing about her aim was, it made her the sort of killer that really didn't intend to kill anyone, and yet killed dozens out of sheer dumb... luck? I'm not sure that's even luck. Luck on someone's end, but I'm not sure whose.

Mai, it'd seem, actually found us as Surya and I scurried across the cemetery yard. Sniper shots zipped past us, kicking up earth and grass all around. Surya wouldn't let me stop or slow down, practically dragging me when I started to do either, heading doggedly toward a car.

Without any more words being spoken, he popped open the passenger door, shoved me in, closed said door, ran around the other side and jumped into the driver's seat through the window. "Hang onto something," he warned, starting the ignition and immediately slamming the engine into reverse. The tires screamed something fierce, and the car shot backwards, leaving a trail of smoke. Another skilled jerking of the shift stick, and the car lurched forward at full speed.

Me? Well, I'm pretty sure my stomach got lost somewhere in the backseat along the way. Mai's sniper bullets clinked into the bumper, one even hit the windshield and got wedged into the glass, another slamming through the glass and crashing into a cup in the centre console, causing the glass to explode. But Surya didn't stop for anything, driving right on down the street.

I swear I heard Azula screaming her frustration as we made our get away, and eventually disappeared behind a tower of glass and steel. Actually, I might really have heard her screaming.

"Well, so much for a peaceful funeral, kid," Surya murmured. "I'm sorry it ended that way."

I shrugged. "Hey, I'm still alive," I answered.

"For now." Surya paused. "You know there's a pretty high chance your sister killed your parents."

"I know." And I did. I'd surmised as much. My criminal justice training even found a solid motive.

Surya didn't say anything for a bit, guiding the car through the streets. "I don't think the estate's a safe place for you right now."

"Why not?" I asked.

"Your sister's now trying to kill you, do so wonder why." His tone suggested otherwise. "And unfortunately, your sister's got guns and lackies. What do you got?"

"Uhh..." Lots of money?

"Yeah. I'll put you up some place, don't worry."

Some part of me worried anyway.

* * *

"**A**ll right," Surya started, leading me into the relatively middle-class apartment. "So, you've got lights, you've got a nice sized kitchen, bed, bathroom's that door right there. Nothing too fancy, but it'll get you by at least." Surya went to check the fridge, while I peeked around. It wasn't what I was used to, no, but my parents had taught me some of the most basic life skills, like cooking and cleaning, and it really wasn't that bad.

"How'd you get it?" I asked, curious. The light fixtures were actually kind of pretty.

"I got a friend that works in this apartment complex," he explained. "Eh, well that's disappointing. Anyway, he set you up with one of their better places. Here's your key," he mentioned, handing me a little gold key. "I'll have your car painted and moved. You know, let's just not make it obvious where you went, but a car might be a good idea if you want a job. I got the rent paid for the next few months."

"How'd you manage that?" Was he really wealthy enough to handle another apartment bill?

"Friend managed to negotiate the price down a bit, something less holy hell you're joking. I had money for it set aside."

I frowned. I didn't want to get him involved in this insanity. It was all my sister's doing anyway, and it was all my problem and not his. He'd been released from his work contract, as far as I knew. So what was the deal? "Look," I started, "I appreciate all this, but you really don't have to go through all this trouble."

"I know I don't. But I made your mother a promise."

"My mother?"

Surya snorted in amusement. "You can't tell me you never noticed."

I quirked an eyebrow up.

"Before your parents got together and married, we were a thing. Now, some people think I should've hated Ozai, for taking the woman of my dreams away, or whatever, but that was her choice and we broke on good terms. I still loved the hell out of her, still do. She and Ozai thought something like this might happen, so she came to me, gave me a good sum of money, and asked me to use it to help you, if ever it did happen. She asked me to take care of you, if she and Ozai weren't here any more one day. So, welcome to the Connolly family, I guess."

I frowned again. "My parents really didn't think I could handle it?"

"Well, _can_ you handle it, when your sister starts shooting at you?" Surya shrugged. "I'm insurance, more like. Just here if you need a nudge in the right direction."

I still wasn't sure how I felt about all this. My parents had died, I had over six million in gold I didn't know what to do with, my sister interrupted our parents' _funeral_ (seriously, I know she didn't like them, but _come on_), and now she was out to kill me, and hell if I could do anything about it. Now I was stuck living off the kindness of someone else, that wasn't even involved in all this at all, because my parents figured it'd be a good idea.

"Hey," Surya interrupted my thoughts. "A lot has happened." No shit. "Just take a bit of time to yourself, figure out what you want to do now, and go from there."

"I don't know what I want to do now," I answered, my tone sour.

"I know you don't. Like I said, take some time. You've got the leisure for it."

"Do I?"

"Hey, Azula won't get you out here. Might want to go grocery shopping by the way, you've got some food, I had my friend stock the fridge, but it's not much."

I shrugged. It didn't really matter.

"And don't go getting all mopey. I'll let you mope for a week or so, but you keep moping after that, and I'm gonna come in here and clobber you."

I snorted. Surya would, too. He was the kind of guy I could make myself like, if I really wanted to. The guy that could've been my dad, but wasn't. My father and I never really had a good relationship anyway. Maybe Surya already _was_ my dad, in a way. Well, he was already a better one than my real father had been. Nothing against the guy, but antagonism didn't really tend to forge strong bonds with one's children.

It wasn't like I had much else to do. Most of my work at the law firm, for the time being, consisted of endless streams of paperwork. It was all just filing. I could do it at home, mail it to them or something, and call it good. Hell, I could quit. It wasn't like I needed the job. Nor did I really find it all that interesting - and let's be honest, I had such a hot temper, and tended to dive in head first so much, I'd probably put more people in jail than I kept out of it.

"I'll be around," Surya mentioned. "I live a few blocks over, so we'll be in touch."

I nodded. "Okay." I didn't mind being alone. Or so I thought.

"You need anything, just want to talk, grab a coffee somewhere, let me know. Just, not after six."

"What happens after six?" I asked, my curiosity overriding my filter.

Surya smiled. "My bar opens. I'll talk to you later." He shuffled to the door, pulling it open and closing it behind him.

Well, at least he had income still. It was good to know that he apparently hadn't been depending entirely on us for his income. I groaned, falling onto the couch, and staring at the ceiling. What _did_ I want to do now?

* * *

**T**he days stretched on endlessly after that. I woke up, had a light breakfast and read the paper, did some filing for the office, mailed completed work, and spent most of the rest of the day reading a book after a warm shower, watching the birds, something silly, and then I went to bed. And that was the extent of my day. I woke up, and did everything on automatic. I didn't have to think about anything, I just did it.

About a week and a half later, I decided it was time to do something different for a change. If I stayed in this rut, I'd quite possibly never get back out of it, and I knew as much. I pulled my shoes on, shrugged a light coat over my shoulders, grabbed my keys, and headed outside. It was nice to be out in the sun instead of behind a curtain for once. Savouring the moment for only a handful of seconds, I headed down to market. There was a nice selection down this way - the rural farmers brought their goods in, and sold them in an outdoor bazaar, and they were well priced for the quality.

On the way back, my arms draped with grocery bags, I noticed an odd sensation of being watched. I thought nothing of it, for most of the way. But then it got stronger, and as I turned a corner, a bullet whizzed past my ear. "Sorry!" a familiar feminine voice called. "I wasn't aiming for that!"

Ty Lee's aim still sucked. And I knew damn well that was what made her dangerous. Quick as I could, I zig-zagged down the street. I knew by now which apartment was Surya's, and made my way toward it. It was closer than my own. I ran through the glass doors, hurrying up the stairs, counting the doors until I found the right one. My boot slammed into the base of the door with a deep toned _thunk thunk thunk_. A grumbling noise answered, and then the sound of something heavy being thrown at the door. I slammed my boot against the door again.

"All right, all right, I'm up," Surya grumbled from the other side. It only took a few moments for the door to open. He blinked, but moved aside, and I scrambled in and handed him my grocery bags, slamming the door shut behind us and sliding all the locks in place. I heaved a sigh, and Surya set the bags down on the table.

"Something happen?"

"Something happened all right," I answered. "I had a bullet whiz past my ear on the way back. Yours was closer, so I cut a few corners and came here."

Surya nodded. "I see. So, your sister's figured out where you are anyway. I was hoping she'd get thrown off the trail."

"Well, apparently not," I snapped.

"Hey, I did my best. We might have a leak in the system."

I frowned, my brows furrowing together. "What system? What are you talking about?"

"Well you didn't think I was taking you just _anywhere_, did you?" He seemed a bit offended. "I've got an extra room, s'in the back. Usually Agneya uses it when he comes to visit, but he can crash in mine. Stay here, just don't go anywhere, and we'll figure out what to do next."

"This is ridiculous," I spat. "I can't even go _grocery shopping_ now, and you want me to just hide some place?"

"I understand you're pissed -"

"You're damned right I'm pissed! My parents are dead, my sister ruined their funeral, and now she's after _me_? All because of a stack of gold? It isn't like _I_ asked to end up with all this fucking money, hell, it's more trouble than it's worth right now, and I'm tempted to say if she wants it so damned bad, she can **have it**! It's not like I want it!" To be totally honest, no. At that point, I didn't want it. I didn't want it to begin with, Azula's chasing me around with guns and crap just solidified the sentiment.

"I'll make tea," Surya announced, going to it. "Have a seat. Breathe." He always took my temper so much better than other people did.

"I **am** breathing," I grumbled, but I fell into a chair heavily anyway.

"This is frustrating, I know. I was never expecting otherwise. But if you give up, then Azula gets away with this. Is that what you want? For her to keep getting whatever she wants and her to get used to being able to get away with anything? You're her brother, Zuko. It's up to you now to teach her that this behaviour is by no means acceptable. You're unfortunately though at a serious disadvantage. She has guns and lackeys. You have money. But you can't stop a bullet with money." Eh, he was right and I knew it. I just hated to admit that my little sister had the upper hand right now.

"So what now?" I asked. Surya hummed and set a cup of tea down in front of me.

"We use our heads. There's got to be something we can do. I'll do some digging around. You lay low and stay alive. Simple."

"Sounds too simple," I grumbled.

"Simple is good," Surya answered. "It means the chances of either of us getting lost in all the complexities is pretty slim. Too many people overcomplicate things, kid. It gets messy."

"I'm twenty six," I bristled. "I think I'm beyond 'kid'."

"I'm fifty one," he answered. "You'll still be kid when you're forty."

I supposed that was just something I'd have to get used to, then. At least he did outrank me in seniority. The term wasn't quite as offensive as it could have been otherwise.

* * *

"**O**ne yummy breakfast, coming right up," Surya sing-songed. Me, well, shit, I was still at least halfway in bed. My eyes drooped, and I fell heavily into a chair, letting my head fall onto the table. "That great a morning, is it?"

I snorted. "I don't wake up very quickly before the sun's up," I grumbled into the gold-detailed wood. It was a pretty shade of chestnut. Or, at least, I thought it was a pretty shade of chestnut. Considering he'd kept the thing for so long, apparently Surya thought so too.

"Well, it'll be up here in a few minutes," Surya answered. I'd been staying with him for a week or so by then. We'd settled into a comfortable daily routine, and, I hate to admit it, but, one good thing my sister did was run me off into someone else's presence. The existence of someone besides me and the silence, it was helping the lingering sting of being alone. I wasn't quite as alone as I'd thought I was, I suppose.

Once in a while, Agneya and his girlfriend, Rys, came over for a visit. They were due to wander by soon for dinner. Despite how aloof and awkward the initial meetings were, we'd settled into one another's presence, and now I really did seem to be part of the Connolly family. I didn't mind it as much as I thought I would. The Connollys were good people, and it was hard to stay depressed around them, a fact that was rather beneficial to me at this point in my life. Now, Rys on the other hand, that girl was just freaky. She was there... and then she was gone. And it was freaky.

I wondered if things would always be like this. With me living with Surya for the rest of... well, probably his life, not mine, doing paperwork for a law firm I wasn't even entirely sure I wanted to work for. At least I was supporting myself to some extent. Surya gave me a place to live, but, he didn't try to give me much else besides that and his presence. The more the days went on, the more I realised I'd come to really like him. He was a good man - it was a shame his wife hadn't seen it, and bailed out on him. He told me the last he'd seen of Kaliska was her car's tail lights speeding off down the road in the rain. Suyis had been all of three years old.

That was tragic.

"Here you are," Surya grinned, setting a plate of eggs and toast down in front of me. He slid that day's paper across the table, and settled down across from me to eat his own breakfast. He didn't have to be anywhere in particular until later, when his bar, _The Red Dragon_, opened that night.

"Thanks," I murmured, lifting my head. It smelled delicious. One thing about Surya I learned very quickly, he was a perfect combination of father and mother, and never once lost an ounce of his masculinity for it.

"So," he started, munching his toast, "any ideas for what you _really_ want to do with your life yet?"

I shrugged, picking at my eggs. Ostrich-horse eggs. Not the greatest, but they were good, if you cooked them right, and Surya always did. "Not really," I answered. "I've never really thought about it. You know, I thought maybe I'd be a cop once, but my parents were all, no that's too dangerous."

"Well, they're not here any more," Surya answered. "Not that I am encouraging disregarding your parents' wishes, but it _is_ your life, not theirs. And I think, at least your mother just wanted you happy. Safe too, and there's the conflict."

He was right, and I knew it. I studied my fork for a bit instead of answering right away.

"It wouldn't hurt to dabble," Surya went on. "You'll be fine here."

"I wasn't before," I answered.

"You were a few blocks too far north," he replied, his tone mild. "Down here, we're close to the border, but if you stay south, you should be fine, unless Mai gets a nice vantage point from a rooftop a few blocks up."

I arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"They'd have to be pretty damn desperate to set foot in this area."

"Why?"

"This is The Badger's territory," Surya answered, and if anything, my expression became even more interested than it'd been before. He laughed. "The Badger, you've never heard of her?"

I shook my head.

"With any luck, you'll never hear her name again. Either one," he added after a pause. He went back to his breakfast. "Finish that before it gets cold," he said. "We'll go wander around when you're done, see if we can't find anything you think's interesting." I thought it would be a bit of a waste of time, but if it made Surya happy, I'd do it anyway. Who knew, maybe I would find something more interesting than law firm paperwork. "If nothing else, I need another bartender."

"I'm not good with alcohol," I said.

"Well, you don't have to be. Just pouring it in a glass. Agneya can do the mixers, and he probably wouldn't be opposed to teaching you."

Probably not. Agneya had the patience of a saint. He really was his father's son. Some part of my mind wondered what my life would've been like, if Surya was my father instead of Ozai. Certainly not boring, that was for sure.

* * *

**W**e'd spent the whole day wandering up and down the streets, checking out the little homey shops and the places hiring apprentices. There was nothing that a law degree would get me into, necessarily, but if nothing else, I was only 26. I could handle getting another degree, if I found something I really wanted to shoot for.

But, for now, law firm paperwork it was. I fell onto the couch, a little worn out after the long day. Surya busied himself getting ready to go to work. He was the bar's bouncer. Funny, I'd never heard of a bar owner working in the bar, but all right. It probably made him happy, to some extent, to help out with his own bar and be a part of it.

"So," I called, "about that bartender job..."

Surya snorted from his room. "Unfortunately, it has certain dangers attached to it," he called back. "Last bartender I had got shot. It was a first for us, but people get drunk, and get into fights all the time."

"Hey, I'm already getting shot at," I answered. The way I figured, it'd at least make a little more sense if I was getting shot at in a bar instead of out on the street minding my own business. Maybe some sort of my mind attempting to regain some semblance of control over the situation, despite it knowing how futile an effort that was.

"I know," he answered. I knew he did. "But that doesn't mean put yourself in even more danger. We'll keep lookin', kid."

I grumbled something about looking forever, and if he heard it, he didn't respond. Just then, I decided to fall over on the couch. And as I did, another sniper bullet whizzed right over my head and embedded itself into the wall. Surya cursed, rushing out of his room half-dressed, and pulled the curtains.

"This is getting ridiculous," he said.

"You're telling me."

"Get dressed, something less classy," he barked. I arched my eyebrow at him, curious as to what, exactly, would make him say that. "You're coming to _The Red Dragon_ with me, dress down, don't look rich."

I arched an eyebrow again. Everything I owned was designer. The light seemed to turn on in his head, and he grumbled more curses, turning and disappearing behind his door. "Where in the hell did Mai stick herself anyway?"

"I don't know," I answered.

"Rhetorical question, kid," he called back. A moment later, he came back out, handing me a pile of clothes. "Might be a little loose, but it'll work."

With interest, I pulled the shirt up, getting a look at it. It looked sufficiently middle class to me. "Why am I going?"

"I think you need professional help," he answered, shoving his bouncer shirt over his head.

"I'm not _crazy_," I protested. For the record, I didn't pout. Okay, maybe I pouted a little bit, but not all that much.

"Not that kind of professional help," Surya answered, rolling his eyes. "The kind of professional help with guns."

Guns. The kind of professional help with _guns_. Like my sister and her lackeys having guns wasn't enough, hey, sure, let's add more guns. I decided not to argue with him - Surya was stubborn enough, it was hard to believe he didn't have any Earth Kingdom blood. Instead, I just grumbled, smacked myself in the face, and went to my room to change. It'd be a little weird, wearing someone else's clothes, and I thought Surya's clothes would hang a little odd on me, but it would be better than sticking out, I guessed. I just kind of figured, sticking out in an environment like that one might be a little more risky than I could really afford at that point.

"Why do I get the feeling trusting you is eventually going to bite me in the ass?" I asked.

"Probably because it will," Surya answered, not missing a beat.

Well that certainly didn't make me feel better. Not that I surmise it was meant to. Surya had a very... shall we say, _special_, way of going about things. I wouldn't pretend to be privy to his thought processes. Rather the opposite, the man confused me shitless. But if he thought he could get me out of this mess in one piece, fine, I'd just go along with it. It was better than getting fried to a crisp and dumped in a ditch some place.

"I've got some connections," Surya went on. "We can get you someone that's been in this business for years now. You know, youngest detective in existence so far, 22 years old, started at 14."

"Fourteen?" I asked, dumb founded. He had to be kidding. No one started investigative work that soon, I should know that, I went to law school. I pulled my shirt on really quick, coming out to stare at him like he'd lost his ever loving mind. "Fourteen."

"Fourteen," Surya nodded. "Smartest person I've ever met, observant as hell, and knows a lot about your sister. If this one can't do it, nobody can."

"Who is it?" I asked.

Surya smirked. "The Badger."

Now, I was _really_ interested.

* * *

**I**'m sure I was annoying Surya by the time we got there with my endless stream of questions. I was curious about this Badger girl, already, had been since he first mentioned her, only I hadn't had the nerve, or whatever, to ask him about her before now. He was taking me to see her, apparently, and that was kind of a really big deal. If I was going to meet her, I wanted to know what kind of person she was. Was she aggravating? Maybe too smart for me, was I going to have trouble keeping up with and understanding her? I felt like these were important questions. I didn't realise then just how important they were.

"Have you ever met her personally?" I asked. Surya seemed bemused, more than anything.

"Yes."

"What's she like?"

Surya snorted. "Irritating, somewhat hot-tempered, kind of freaky, unnerving I guess is more the word. She's very blunt, boisterous, loud, opinionated, a bit hard-headed..."

I frowned. Either we'd get along swimmingly, or she'd annoy the ever loving daylights out of me.

"Don't make that face," Surya chided. "She's a good woman, very talented. She's a master at what she does, see, and she doesn't let anybody dare forget it." I'd learn, soon enough, that was The Badger in a nutshell. She was a master of her chosen speciality, and being taken lightly was not pleasing to her in the least.

"I'll take your word for it," is what I said at the time. If he said so, I was willing to accept it. Surya had yet to lead me astray, or lie to me, and I didn't think he'd start then. No, Surya was a rather honest type. He said what he meant, did what he promised, and never backed out of a commitment. It was something I looked up to in him, in a way. He was kind of the person I wanted to become one day.

He led the way into his bar - a nicely detailed little red building on the corner of Tan Yang Road and Lin Ha Boulevard. It was pretty, I thought.

"Did the details myself," Surya mentioned.

"Wow," I breathed. "It's pretty."

"Catchy too. Everybody knows where the _Red Dragon_ is. But that was the intention."

He opened the doors, the handles golden and shaped into dragons' heads. We entered the entryway, the floors a lovely slate tile, draped in red carpet, and the walls a maroon shade, with gold crown, dado rail and baseboard moulding. On the lower half of the walls, below the dado rail, was a neat gold and bronze dragon pattern. "You do the inside, too?" I asked.

"Some of it," he answered. "This room, my youngest did."

Ah, Suyis. The supposedly insane cop. Or, I heard he was a cop. But I heard Jiva was a cop, too, and he didn't really seem the type. Too calm, I always thought. We entered another set of doors, mostly etched glass, peonies coating the surfaces, into the main bar room. The air was heavy with the scent of bourbon and hazed over with smoke, cigarette and otherwise.

Agneya managed the bar alone. "'Neya," Surya called.

"Sir?" Agneya answered, setting the glass he was cleaning down.

"Has the Badger come in yet today?"

Agneya shook his head. "No," he answered. "The others haven't been in either."

"All right," Surya replied. "Can you manage the bar alone for a bit?"

"What happened?"

"Zuko just got sniped at in my living room."

"Ee," Agneya winced. "I think I can manage, long as you're not gone too long."

"If anything happens, just freeze the shits to the wall," Surya grumbled. Agneya nodded, and Surya led me back out.

"Does the Badger come to your bar a lot?" I asked, as we exited the entrance hall back out into the front.

"Sometimes," Surya replied. "She's got a thing for gin and blackjack." A pause. "Not playing blackjack, mind, but listening to it."

Listening? I thought that was odd wording, but I didn't say anything, instead scurrying to keep up with him as he power-walked down the street. Her office wasn't far, apparently, and she didn't typically pack up and go home until late, so if she wasn't out investigating something, she'd be in her office.

Three blocks, four blocks, five... Surya finally turned to the left, heading down Chang Jia Avenue. A few buildings down, he stopped, opening the door and shuffling in.

The entire building was made of metal and stone. It was a nice stone, I noted, a soft beige in colour, not too bright or light in shade. The walls had chestnut mouldings, complete with dado rail. The chairs were all dark brown leather, stately and professional. The front desk in the back middle of the lobby had no one behind it. "Have a seat," Surya murmured. I did as he told me to, settling down in one of those stately chocolate brown chairs, looking around with interest. Even the light shades were interesting. The centre ceiling light had a gold and glass cover, etched with pandas and bamboo.

Surya shuffled down the hallway. I thought it was weird, that they were apparently close enough he could wander through her office building at will unsupervised. Eventually, I'd learn he wasn't unsupervised.

The Badger knew when someone entered her territory.

A few moments later, Surya came back, a somewhat short, athletically-built woman behind him. She was impossibly pale, almost the colour of a porcelain doll, her long black hair held back in a messy half-ponytail, bangs hanging in her face under the rim of her tan fedora.

"This the kid?" she asked. Now that she was closer, I could see her eyes, hiding in the shadows the rim of her hat cast. They were pale green, just as impossibly pale as her skin. She was blind.

"He is," Surya answered. "Zuko, this is Detective Toph Northern. The Badger."

My eyes went wide. "This is _her_?" I asked, disbelieving.

"We'll talk," Toph decided.

"I have to get back to the _Dragon_," Surya said. "You remember how to get home?"

I nodded dumbly.

"Good. I'll see you after work." The door clicked closed behind him, and I had to figure out how to deal with this. The infamous Badger was a little blind girl. And she was eerily familiar...

* * *

**Notes:** I have no idea what this is. Bare with me, cause whatever it is, it'll be _**fabulous**_. I blame Charmed Noir and Rick Castle.

This is the first of a series. I'm guesstimating a three-part series, I'm not 100% sure. There'll be about six chapters in this first one. I could keep going on just this one, but I tend to take year-long breaks after about six to eight chapters, so I figured keeping it short and breaking it up into parts might just be the thing to make me stick to it. I dunno. We'll see. As you can tell, this is very AU, and several of my OCs from _Like the Sun_ will be returning for this... cracked out crime adventure. It's meant to be set kind of in the same time period-ish as _The Legend of Korra_ is, just with the original _The Last Airbender_ characters we all know and love in it.

Disclaimers: As always, I don't want critique on my English or anyone pointing out my typos. I don't care enough. I got most of them, you'll survive. Any canonical, historical, cultural, etc mistakes I make, I can assure you, I am aware I made them and I did it on purpose. And even if you point them out, I'm not going to fix it, because I'm an ass that way, and I wrote the outlines a certain way for a reason, which means bending the rules of the universe on occasion. If you can't handle that, I'm sorry, my fics are not for you. This **is** a Toko, and due to the nature of the crime thriller noir type genre, here there will be violence, booms, bullets playin' bird, horrible language, and lemons. I don't write my lemons terribly explicit, though. I don't own Avatar. I wish I did. I'd probably be able to pay my rent. Speaking of paying my rent, if anyone is interested, I may have a job with Apple. Boo fuckin ya!

Apparently it's Zutara week? I almost feel bad for releasing Toko in the middle of Zutara week. And then I just giggle.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**I** led the way into my office, Zuko Vanston right behind me. Surya had given me the gist of the situation, but nothing much for detail, and detail was what I wanted right now. I wanted to know what I was getting myself into. No way was I going to end up caught up in some stupid case. I was picky about which cases I took on - for one thing, there was very little I could do in certain situations. For another, I had limited resources to do it with.

One of the major pitfalls of being freelance. My boys and I weren't affiliated with the regional police commission. I never wanted to be, anyway, taking orders wasn't my forte.

I nudged my office door open with a foot, gesturing at one of the two chairs in front of my desk, and settled down in my own seat. "Posh," I heard him whisper, as he settled down, presumably taking in the room's decor.

"I'm a fucking Northern, what do you expect?" I asked, a little irritated, jerking a thumb behind me. My family emblem was on that wall. An emerald green tapestry, I've heard it described as, with the flying boar emblem embroidered in with gold. "So, bullets whizzing past your ears?"

"Oh, right," he stammered. "Um, I guess actually the start is uh... my parents were murdered."

"Yeah?" I prompted.

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "The ah... the authorities are supposedly on the case, but um, I haven't heard anything from them and -"

"When was this?" I asked.

"Oh, uh, almost a month ago."

A month. Well, it usually did take the police commission a while to turn up anything. That was part of what drove people to me. I came up with answers a bit faster. "Got any ideas who it might've been? Anyone angry at them, did they have any fights beforehand...?"

"Um, actually I think it was my sister."

"Your sister," I repeated, arching an eyebrow.

"Look, I don't mean to be rude," he started. Oh, here we go. I reached over onto the desk, picking up a pack of cigarettes and hanging one from my lips. A moment later, I found the lighter and lit it. "But I'm not sure how... do you have to do that?"

"You're in my office, Kitten, not the other way around, deal with it," I huffed. "I'm blind. I get it. I'm used to people thinking I can't do this shit." If I could roll my eyes, I would. I flicked my ashes off into the ashtray instead. "I've been at this since I was fourteen. I've nearly gotten killed almost every case I've taken, mostly because I never take the mediocre ones. I'm twenty two. Would've graduated from Jian Hu University if I ever fucking bothered going longer than that first semester. I might not have the degree, but I've got the experience."

He seemed to strangely perk up at the mention of Jian Hu. "Why didn't you?"

"They're a bunch of fucking idiots, that's why," I drawled. "So, you think your sister did it."

"Oh, right. ... wait, did you call me Kitten?"

I snorted. Five minutes later... "You remind me of a newborn kitten. Sister."

"Oh. Um, well my parents, Ozai and -"

"I know who your parents were," I interrupted.

"Oh, okay. Well, they wrote my sister off the will. Um, and I know she always thought that the inheritance was kind of her birthright, or whatever, so she was really pissed when they did that. Uh, and now she's after my neck, and the only reason that really makes sense is if she was after the fortune. I mean, I'm the only possible heir left alive, I get all of it."

Listening to his voice, I pieced together why he seemed familiar, and why he perked up at the mention of my old university. This fucker had been valedictorian that year. Again, if I could roll my eyes...

"Makes sense to me," I shrugged. I didn't want to take this case on. I didn't want to deal with this snotty shit again. If he could just go jump off a bridge, that would've made my life. Only one man ever broke my heart, and he was sitting across the desk from me. To be fair, it'd been his last year, my first, and hell, his career had been about to take off. But he could've been a little nicer. In a sense, I think his words struck me hard enough, I went freelance partially to prove him wrong. I hated to admit it, but a lot of what I'd done by then was because of him. I guess it was a little hard to admit that he had that much influence over me already.

"So uh," he interrupted my thought process. "What now?"

What now, indeed. I wasn't entirely sure. I hated the idea of taking his case on, and I doubted anything would change that. I sighed, leaning back in my chair. "I'm an independent detective, Mr. Vanston," I explained. "I have to decide if your case is even worth taking."

"I can pay you well," he offered. "I mean, millions worth of gold I don't even really want sitting around in a bank and all. And my sister, her name's Azula."

My sightless eyes narrowed in thought. "Iceheart?" I asked.

"I guess?" was his response.

"Ringleader of the Burning Triad," I explained. "Firebends blue?" Whatever blue was.

"Sounds like her," he answered. "She's the only Firebender I know of that has blue flames."

I mulled it over for a few moments. My boys and I had been after the Burning Triad for years. Azula "Iceheart", apparently Vanston, Mai "Dagger" Fulmar, and Ty Lee "Bendy" Lenihan. While the trio wasn't the most dangerous, nor the most wanted trio in the area, they were three of the bigger fish in the sea, evading police for over nearly ten years now. It'd be a hell of an honour, and good for business, publicity, and our bank accounts, if my boys and I could manage to down them. Now we had a source of information, that had grown up with Iceheart fall into our lap, asking for help. Could it get any better?

My problem was, I held grudges for too long.

"I'll talk to my boys," I finally said, my tone smooth.

"Your boys?" Zuko repeated, curiously.

"My partners. I have eight. If they agree, then we'll take your case."

"If they don't?" he asked.

I paused. "I guess you'd better talk to the police."

* * *

"**Y**ou, fucking, _**JACKASS**_!" Okay. I knew he hadn't necessarily done it on purpose, making me deal with Zuko Vanston of all people, as it wasn't as though Surya _knew_ any better. The knowledge, however, didn't stop me from being pissed as all hell when I stormed into his bar later that night.

"Really?" Surya asked, standing at his place near the door. Agneya looked our way, but he didn't say anything. "I would've figured you'd be happy to have another investigative job."

"That's not _investigating_," I spat, bristling. "You know what you're setting me up to do, **babysit**. You're setting me up to be a babysitter for a spoiled, self-centred, irritating, jerk weasel, rich and priviledged mother fucker!" The walls shook slightly, as I spat the last bit of that sentence, but Surya wasn't concerned, and it calmed down a few seconds later.

Surya was quiet for a moment. "Would you like a glass of gin?"

"NO," I screeched. "Gimme a fucking Revolver! There is not enough alcohol in the world to deal with this crap!"

"Coming up," Agneya called. It was a mix of bourbon, coffee liqueur, and orange bitters.

"He's not that bad," Surya said. "I'm not sure why you're so against this."

"Several reasons which are none of your fucking business."

"Ohohh, one of _those_," Surya hummed knowingly.

"Oh don't act like you know what I mean," I huffed.

Surya shook his head, taking my elbow and leading me to the bar. "I have an inkling," he insisted, getting me settled into a seat. I decided not to whack him in the family jewels just yet, and he settled down beside me. "Judging by your reaction, one, you already know him, two, you're not fond of him for some reason, three, your very narrow idea of him seems to stem from some sort of past conflict -"

"Okay," I growled, "okay. Stop it. You're freakier than I am."

"Well, I know you pretty well, I'd say it's not freakiness, just, very educated guesses."

I arched an eyebrow. A moment later, a glass tapped onto the bar next to me. My Revolver was done. "We otherwise know that as freakiness," I replied coolly, taking my drink and downing part of it. Woo, that was the stuff. Agneya was fantastic at this drink mixing business, no wonder Rys was banging the guy. Some days, if I thought I could, I'd bang him, too. And his brothers were just sexy on a stick. Hell, his dad was, too. But that was a little too far into creepy territory.

"Look," Surya went on. "The kid's got nothing right now, be a little generous for once."

"Nothing? Three and a half _million_ gold is nothing?"

"Money can't buy happiness, you know that as well as I do -" I groaned, resting my head against my palm - "and neither can it buy justice. That's what he needs right now, he needs justice, Detective. His parents are gone, his sister's long gone bonkers, he's stuck in an apartment with an ex-employee of his _father's_, his career's running into the ground thanks to having to dodge bullets, and quite possibly the only person that can help him right now, is being an asshole."

I shook my head, drinking more of the Revolver. A light tap sounded as I set it back down. "I can't," I whispered. "I can't deal with this, Surya. Not after this long, not after that shit he said to me."

"I'll tell you what," he whispered back, leaning closer. "I'll manage the kid. You just handle the Triad. Okay? Just focus on finding Azula, finding proof she killed the Vanstons, and taking her and her she-bitches down."

"What's in this for you, anyway?" I asked. "He's not your problem, you were employed as his _father's_ bodyguard, not his, what gives?"

Surya breathed in. "Ursa was..." he trailed off. "His mother was my first love. And will always be my last. And like Zuko does, I want justice, and I know you can get it."

"You do know the difference between justice and vengeance, don't you?" I asked.

"Did I ask you to kill her?" he retorted.

"Just don't get the two mixed up, honey." I took another breath, and another drink of my Revolver.

"I might mention here, that your little office took some doing, via some very selfless and at the time rather broke friends, who shall remain... nameless..." Surya mentioned.

I groaned. I was going to regret this, and I knew as much. And yet, I kept on going down that path, knowing what I was heading toward, knowing what kind of crap I was getting myself into. Surya was right - I owed him, I might always owe him, for getting my barely fifteen year old self's foot in the investigation door. Before that, it was all working with the police commission, and never seeing the action firsthand. And when I dropped out of Jian Hu, Surya backed me the whole way.

"All right," I conceded. "I'll do it for you."

"You're still more than welcome to free drinks," Surya replied, sounding relieved.

"I'd better be," I snorted. "I'm going to need an entire bar's worth to get through this shit."

"Hey, you were already after the Triad, anyway."

I shrugged. "Not actively," I corrected. "But, I guess that's about to change." I finished my drink, setting the glass down on the bar, and standing. "I'd better get the boys moving."

"So you'd better," Surya replied, the smile in his tone quite obvious.

"Asshole," I spat, stalking for the door.

"Adore you too, Miss Northern!" Oh, he was so going to pay for this crap in gin.

* * *

"**W**hat have you got for me?" I asked, settling down in a seat, a cup of coffee in my hand. The boys had been scouting our territory the entire morning, and we'd now gathered together on our lunch break in the conference room.

"Not much," Zephyr answered. Jiva, or Zephyr, as I'd eventually dubbed him, was one of my best and most trusted, Surya's second son. "There've been rumours of the Triad being more active these days, but nothing solid."

"Hmm, that's funny, an old lady mentioned seeing the three about two days ago," Meilin Synnett, 'Machine Gun,' mentioned. As always, she was polishing her rifle. I could hear the metallic clicking noises as she moved it around. "About ten or eleven at night two nights ago, slinking around _The Red Dragon_," she went on.

"What were they doing?" I asked.

"Nobody seems to know," Kieran Morris, 'Golden Bullet,' answered. He paused long enough to light a cigarette. "Machine Gun and I asked the lady where exactly they were seen. Then Blue Eyes and I scoped the area, but we didn't find anything."

Hmm. "Are we entirely sure these were our gals?" I asked.

'Blue Eyes,' or Kai Slade, snorted. "No," she said. "Like Zephyr said, aside from the old lady Machine Gun and Golden Bullet ran into, there wasn't anyone else in the area that reported sighting them. So either, no one else did, our lady mistook someone else for them, or somebody's lying."

I wrinkled my nose. 'Somebody's lying' always seemed to be in Blue Eyes' repertoire of possibilities. "Fine," I conceded, sipping my coffee and lighting a cigarette. "Any other potential leads?" I asked. "And Blue Eyes, get laid."

She snorted derisively at my comment. Her twin brother, Iname Slade, or Sure Shot, snickered.

"You too," I shot at him. He immediately went silent, and I could hear Blue Eyes' smirk in the hum of amusement she loosed.

"Not so far," Ghost, Rys Carson, answered, choosing to ignore the Slade twins shoving at one another. "I've been all up and down the streets around _The Red Dragon_, and I've got nothing."

"Neither have I," Shadow Dancer, Aeris McCarter, put in.

I sighed, setting my coffee down and leaning back in my chair. "So, fact: we've got a trio of unfortunately intelligent felons on the loose in our territory. Fact: Ozai and Ursa Vanston were murdered right outside our borders. Fact: Zuko Vanston's life is now threatened. Keep going," I prompted.

Everyone went quiet for a few moments, as they mulled over the details of what we actually knew.

"Ah, fact, Zuko Vanston's life is definitely threatened by the Burning Triad," Golden Bullet put in.

"Fact, he's a complete idiot, but we're helping him anyway," Suyis Black, or Blazing Jackal, grumbled. Despite being Surya's youngest, he was... a piece of work, nothing like either of his elder brothers. He had mommy issues.

"Jackal, can it," I snapped.

"Seriously though, why the Vanstons? If I wanted politics, sibling rivalries and hissy fits with guns, I'd -"

"I said shh," I interrupted him. "Brainstorming, go back to it."

"Well," Shadow Dancer started, "fact, Zuko Vanston _is_ related to Iceheart."

"And he did just become a millionaire," Machine Gun added.

"The Burning Triad did, in fact, interrupt the Vanstons' funeral with gunfire," Blue Eyes added.

"So," I started again, thinking. "Final fact, Iceheart was written off the Vanston will."

"Well there's our motive right there," Ghost snorted.

"Exactly. So we have motive. We have means. We even have the fact that Iceheart clearly didn't give a damn her parents had just died." I paused, taking a drag off my cigarette. "So what next? Your brother's got your money, you've got the means to kill him, but he gets away from you, and is now in the territory of someone you're rivals with, and maybe a bit terrified of. What do you do? Go." I snapped my fingers, and I could practically hear the gears in their heads turning.

"Wouldn't be able to take this rival head-on," Machine Gun started.

"Something covert," Ghost added, catching onto Machine Gun's train of thought.

"Like, deception type crap?" Golden Bullet asked. Ghost nodded. "Oh, I'd better sit this one out then," Bullet concluded, flopping down into his chair. Blue Eyes snorted at him. Bullet really wasn't much good at deception.

"Throw the rival off your trail," Blue Eyes started. "Toss around rumours, maybe, cover your tracks well, never let the rival know where you are."

I nodded. "Very good, thirty deceptive bitch points to Blue Eyes. If the Triad wants to throw us off, we're going to have to do more digging than usual. Don't let them throw you off. I know you guys can do this shit, I hand picked every damn one of you. Don't make me regret my choices." Pause for dramatic effect... "It's time to take these bitches seriously."

"Have we mentioned how much we love you, Lady Badger?" Golden Bullet asked.

Zephyr snorted. "Don't say it too much, it'll get to her head."

"Hey, asshole, I know where you sleep," I spat.

"Of course," Zephyr snickered. "I sleep on your door mat."

"No you don't."

"How do you know?"

I arched an eyebrow.

"All right, we'll spread out again," Jackal announced. "And this time, I guess we're combing and questioning more thoroughly."

I made a face, that said, 'Damn right you are.' They shuffled out easily enough. After a moment, I picked up my coffee, and followed them. The Triad was apparently determined to draw The Badger out.

"**O**i, Boss Lady," Bullet's voice barked over the din of the bar. We'd been chasing at shadows, trying to figure out what the Burning Triad was up to for the last several days, with no breakthroughs. It was time for a glass of gin, naturally. I cocked my head to the side, indicating I was listening, as Golden Bullet and Sure Shot came up beside me. "We got a sure lead on where the fuck Bendy's been, at least."

"And, someone saw Iceheart behind Vanston's old apartment complex," Sure Shot added. "There was a note spray painted on the back of the building, read, 'How long can the Badger play the game?'"

I groaned. She was taunting us, and enjoying every second of it. That was not to say, were I in her shoes, I wouldn't have done the same thing. "Fucking annoying piece of shit," I grumbled.

"Ey, Agneya, can I get a scotch on the rocks?" Bullet asked, settling down next to me. Sure Shot took the other side, but he didn't typically drink. Lightweight Airbenders. Funny, most of our drunks were Firebenders. And then there was me, the Earth and Metalbender that drank more than was probably good for my liver. Not that I ever gave a damn.

A glass clinked down, the soft tinkling of ice against glass accompanying. Golden Bullet snatched it up. "So what now?" he asked.

"Hell if I know," I grumbled. "Unfortunately, for all that we're accustomed to chasing Iceheart and her goons around, we know almost nothing about them and the way they work when they get serious."

"Yeah," Sure Shot snorted. "It's like we were just tap-dancing around one another the last several years. Then, they get on their serious boots, and suddenly we're more lost than a rabiroo in the fucking north pole."

Sadly, that sounded about right.

"You know," Bullet started, but I cut him off.

"Don't even go there," I hissed, punching his arm. "I don't want anything to do with the jackass."

"Another Vanston might have a little insight, is all I'm saying," Bullet defended. "I mean, shit, we're running in fucking circles and it's _embarrassing_."

I did have to agree with him on that.

"Maybe we can keep him away from you," Sure Shot suggested. "I mean, he doesn't _have_ to talk to you. We hardly do, sometimes. If we just acted as go-betweens, you wouldn't even have to hear his voice."

I grumbled, resting my chin in my hand, propping it against the bar. "That's kind of already how we've got it set up with Surya."

"Except, Surya doesn't usually have the time to get precious information for us," Bullet noted. "If he was in direct contact with one of us, we may be able to get more done, and faster."

"You just want to fuck him," I hissed.

Bullet snorted. "Only one dude I'm interested in fucking, Boss." On my other side, Sure Shot made a sickeningly cute 'yay' type noise. Sometimes, they were so adorable, they made me sick.

"Fine," I grunted. "Whatever." As long as they kept Vanston away from me, they could do whatever they damned well pleased, I figured. "But he does not talk to me, you do not leave him in the office alone with me, he does not go within ten yards of my door, period, or I may just kill him myself."

"Is he that bad?" Bullet asked.

I just snorted. "Just deal with the asshole."

"Dad wants to move him closer to your place," Agneya mentioned.

I about spat my gin all over the bar. "_**What**_?!"

Agneya winced. "Just, he's still getting shot at, Dagger knows where he is, and she's not afraid to shoot at him."

"His side of the bargain was, _he_ would take care of the kid," I spat.

"I know," Agneya replied. "But, he's not got the time to watch him forever. He leaves home at six, stays here til five in the morning, goes home, sleeps til two. What's he supposed to do?"

"Ugh. Fine. Just, try and be more careful -"

"He's actually been staying here," Agneya interrupted. "We've got his new apartment already, sold his car, and we were hoping..."

I cursed colourfully. Bullet bounced in his seat. "Great, escort services."

"We're cops, not escorts," Sure Shot snorted.

"Well, if you want something done _right_, do it yourself," Bullet countered.

"Clearly," I grumbled. "I'm not riding, go find Zephyr and get him the fuck out of here."

"Fine," Bullet said, standing and shuffling across the room. Shadow Dancer and Zephyr were over there playing poker.

"I know you got your grudge thing going on," Sure Shot started, speaking lowly. "But you gotta let this go."

I shook my head. "I can't."

"That's not good enough."

"Don't you patronise me."

"I'm not," he replied. "I respect you, Boss. You're the best in this field I've ever worked with, and I've worked with a lot of people. But you can't hold onto this. It's not good for this case, it's not good for morale, it's not good for progress, and it damn well isn't good for you. If you hold onto that forever, someday, it's gonna destroy you, too."

I snorted, softly. Once, I said the same thing to him. The Slades came to me three years prior. Blue Eyes had been acting weird, Sure Shot was convinced their father was beating their mother, and one day she turned up dead. When I'd connected all the dots, I'd uncovered their father was a fugitive from the Northern Water Tribe, wanted for having a hand in several murders and conspiracy to overthrow the Tribe Chief, that had, in fact, not loved their mother. She was his connection in the city, his safe-house. He'd kidnapped her, abused the hell out of her, and never really stopped, even after she gave him a family. And when their mother finally tried resisting, he turned on their daughter.

Sure Shot had anger issues. He tended to pin it up inside instead of face it head on. So when the truth about their father had been unveiled, oh, he was livid. I said to him one day, at least a year later, that he had to let go of that anger. Because he wasn't doing himself, or his sister, who needed him, any favours.

The ironies of life.

I sighed, sliding my now empty glass down the bar to Agneya, for a refill. "I'll try," I said.

"Good," Sure Shot answered. "You're better than this."

Was I? Sometimes, I wondered.

* * *

**T**he trip had been interrupted. When they came back, Zephyr had nearly rammed the car into the side of the office building, and they'd almost immediately rushed Zuko inside. We were on the ground floor, after all, and it was harder to hit a target on the ground floor of a building from a rooftop. I stood just inside the lobby, looking probably quite perplexed. Zephyr learned to drive from his father, of course. And Surya was, at times, a quite reckless driver, he typically didn't drive like a nut-case unless something terribly wrong had happened. Zephyr, in turn, learned his driving habit. Something had gone wrong.

Sure Shot ended up with Blue Eyes on his back. Zuko, incidentally, was on Bullet's back. "What happened?" I demanded.

"They figured out we were moving him," Sure Shot answered. "Dagger bitch got them both."

"I've got a knife somewhere..." Bullet was murmuring.

"Knife?" Zuko asked, startled.

"Well, yes, how else am I going to get the bullet out?" Bullet asked.

"Where is it?" I asked, shuffling over. Bullet reached out and guided my hand right to it. A quick yank, and the bullet ripped itself out and slammed into the baseboard moulding.

Zuko, of course, screamed like a wuss.

"Oh, shut up, Kitten," I grumbled. "She got one too?" I asked, gesturing at Blue Eyes.

"Yes," Sure Shot answered, taking my hand and guiding me to it. I Metalbent that one out as well, adding another bullet to the baseboard moulding, but unlike Zuko, Blue Eyes just grunted softly.

"They're always one step ahead," Bullet grumbled, setting Zuko down so he could disinfect and bandage the man's gunshot wound. Sure Shot set Blue Eyes down, but she reached toward the break room, bending the water out of the sink and to her. She, of course, was not an Airbender like her brother, and quite versed in healing and first aid.

Probably, she was the only thing keeping her mother alive, for a good portion of her life.

"I've noticed," I drawled. "You fucks better have shot back."

"We did," Bullet assured me. "But you know, Dagger can annoyingly shoot well and Bendy's like a tornado with an assault rifle."

I snorted at the comparison. Bendy really was a tornado with an assault rifle. I sighed. This was getting more complicated. If they _knew_ every time we made a move before we even knew what we were doing, then... what the hell were we doing?

"Look," I started. "I trust you three. So do me a favour, and don't ever utter a word of what I'm about to say here to anyone else, you too," I added, pointing at Kitten. "They really _are_ one step ahead, every time. We can't let this keep on. So, no more talking to everyone else, no more brainstorming plans, you come straight to me, report to me, and utter not a single word to anyone else. Got it? No one."

"Not even Surya?" Bullet asked.

"Not even Surya. He is no longer in the picture. I love the guy to death, don't get me wrong, but we can't afford to take any more chances, and since Kitten is no longer staying with him, he doesn't need to know." No, he really didn't. "And you're not staying in that apartment they got set up for you," I mentioned, turning to face Kitten.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because until we find the leak, it's not safe. So, I'll tell you what." I paused. ... this was fucking Zuko Vanston, did I really want to do that? He might be just as safe with Bullet, or Sure Shot and Blue Eyes. My problem was, they were good, but they weren't that good. My place had windows, but there were metal grates over them, and it was on the ground floor. Good luck getting a bullet through one of those tiny ass holes from a rooftop. They were designed so that, all I had to do was spread out the grates, and suddenly, I had metal shields over them instead. All it would take is one bullet to hit the grate. We could go underground, to keep the Triad from figuring out where we were. There was a thought. Ugh, fine. If it kept the idiot alive, I guessed.

"I have an extra room," I said, a tone of finality in my voice. "Just... I have odd quirks, there aren't a lot of lights, it's not fancy, don't you _dare_ talk to me before I have coffee in my system, you'll have to get over the cigarette smoke, and you'll follow me to work every morning. I hope you're not afraid of tunnels."

"Tunnels?" Zuko asked.

"Yes, tunnels. We can get here from underground, a lot easier to keep Iceheart and her goons from tracking your movements." They may not even know they were there. "And just, stay in the office next to mine and out of the way. You got a job?" I asked.

"Um, I did," he answered. "I lost it."

"Not surprised." With how crazy his life was any more, it was almost a miracle he'd held onto it this long. I decided not to mention that. No need to thoroughly pulverise his ego, as tempting as it was to do it anyway. "I've got plenty of things you can occupy yourself with," I decided. "I can't read or write anyway." Being as I was blind, well...

"More paperwork?" he asked.

"Yes."

Kitten let out a sigh. "All right." He paused, and I could sense concern and mild anxiety flickering through him, before he said, "Could I ask a favour?"

"Depends," I answered.

"Could someone teach me to shoot?" he asked.

I arched an eyebrow. "A gun?"

"No, pool. Yes, a gun."

I'll admit, I bristled. "Asshole," I grunted. "We'll see, but I won't make any promises. I'm not sure anyone will have the time." Not entirely true. We could easily make the time, if I felt like we should. We'd done it before, of course - some of us hadn't gone through law school and had never handled a gun before. And we made time to teach them how, because it would be a matter of life or death. I wasn't so sure about teaching Zuko Vanston such things - he was pampered and would probably be on the other side of the gunfire, the side that dealt with the aftermath of gunfire, not gunfire itself.

"If you go down this hall," I mentioned, pointing, "count out three doors, the fourth one is mine. The fifth one is yours now."

Zuko sighed. "Okay." He didn't get up immediately, mostly because Blue Eyes wouldn't let him. She was healing his gunshot wound.

"You guys know where to find me if you need me," I said, and shuffled down the hall.

* * *

"**W**hat even was that crap?" Machine Gun asked, downing some of her bottle of vodka. "I mean really, does he really think we're going to teach him to shoot?"

"Probably couldn't hit a lion-turtle," Jackal snorted.

"Shut up, guys," I grumbled. He was there, of course, in his little office doing paperwork and filing. Our lunch breaks were now full of gossip and other such mundane things, rather than case brainstorming. Golden Bullet had mentioned it would probably be a good idea to teach him, and I had to agree. Eventually, we'd end up in another shoot-out with the Triad, and I could use another gunner.

"Got a migraine?" Ghost asked.

"Yes," I answered. The case was going nowhere. But I did manage to find an eye-witness that had seen Iceheart near the scene of the Vanstons' murder around the same time. Finding another one was proving to be a problem, and the bullets weren't quite matching their guns.

"Want some tea?" Ghost tilted her head.

"I don't know." A pause, and I added, "but you guys could use to just shh a little." Never mind I didn't want Kitten back there hearing it and getting depressed. He was at least aware they didn't think much of him. Fuck, _I_ didn't think much of him, either, and I think he knew that, too.

But, well, my grudges were my grudges. So far, he had at least been staying out of my way, for the most part, and I could pretend he wasn't even there. And, no dodging bullets. It was quiet at my place. Blissfully so, and it seemed like he was enjoying the break from the bullets as much as I was.

But we weren't much closer to putting his sister behind bars now than we were before. It was getting to be frustrating.

"Look," Jackal started, "maybe we should just drop this case. I mean, we're not getting anywhere, the kid's technically in the way and throwing everyone's groove off, for real."

"We can't just drop it," I answered. "We've got a contract going. He's paying us, pretty damn well, I might add. And maybe he's a bit in the way, but not entirely. Nobody's going to die because he's in our care." To be fair, no. But I couldn't discount the possibility of my sanity being somewhere in the casualty list.

"Fine," Jackal shrugged. "I just think this is a dead-end case, and without more solid evidence to go by, we're going to be stuck with the runt forever."

"It's not that bad," Sure Shot said. "He's not actually in the way, and really, he's doing everyone a favour, doing the paperwork for us."

"Yeah, spirits know we love doing paperwork," Blue Eyes snorted.

"I always manage to fuck it up somehow," Bullet grunted. "So hey, at least someone that doesn't have a stupidly high error rate is doing it for once. I guess now, if we wanted, we could start working with the regional police commission."

"There's an idea," Jackal declared. "How about it, boss? Backup might be a good thing."

"No," I answered, flatly. "Absolutely not, after the crap I had to go through to get their help on the one case I asked for their help with, out of the question. The regional police commission is like Jian Hu, that is, full of fucking idiots."

"They're doing something right," Jackal defended. "What with the crime rate being on the drop."

"That's because of _us_, not them," I snorted. "Now, if they can catch Iceheart for me, then maybe I'll give them a little more cred. Until then, they're all goons." Not that I really had all that much intention of giving the regional police commission _any_ sort of cred until they got their shit in gear, and people stopped coming to **me** for help, because the police couldn't do anything to help them.

Jackal didn't say anything else. And I was entirely willing to let it go, because I didn't think it was that big of a deal. But, then, I arched an eyebrow. "Ghost, could you get me some tea, please?" I asked.

Ghost nodded. "Sure," she answered, shuffling across the room to do that.

"What's your issue with him, Jackal?" I asked. "This is the second time you've tried talking me into letting his case go. But if we solve this one, we'll have better cred than we've ever had before, and we'll probably all be several hundred gold richer." Or, that was my estimation.

"Nothing," Jackal answered. "I just think we might be wasting our time, is all."

"And why's that?"

"Just a feeling," he replied. "Well, I was scoping the north side." Blazing Jackal stood up, taking his cup of coffee, and headed for the door.

"I think he's just jealous," Machine Gun murmured.

I snorted. Jealous of _what_?

* * *

**I** was always the last to leave, after a day of work. Sure Shot was usually second to last, unless Golden Bullet could talk him into leaving earlier than usual. Golden Bullet and Sure Shot had met when Sure Shot and Blue Eyes joined my tiny team. It was actually quite rewarding, to watch them fall in love with one another, over time, and I found little rewards in their adoration of one another. Golden Bullet had been on the streets. He had come to me looking for his little sister, Ayako Morris, who'd disappeared one day out of nowhere, and was never seen again.

I still hadn't found any leads on her, and neither had he, four years later. She would be turning 21.

My little team was like the family I didn't have. My parents were nobility, supposedly, descended from a powerful lineage that spanned as far back as before the monarchies, or so they said. I was raised in an orphanage, after my mother was stabbed to death by a drunk right in front of me, and my father joined the police force right after. He didn't live much longer, gunned down during a bank robbery.

I didn't have an easy life, after that. Like my father did, I got interested in criminal justice, and did a lot of teaching myself. Eventually, I mastered Earthbending, discovered Metalbending on accident, and learned that I was a walking lie detector, with most people. Not everyone; some people, like Iceheart, were just skilled enough at concealing the truth, that I didn't sense anything off at all.

I finished school several years early, but Jian Hu wouldn't take me before I'd turned eighteen. So, I started out interning with other detectives, the regional police commission, doing freelance work, from fourteen to eighteen, and then I entered the University. And, well, one bad thing followed another, and then I discovered Jian Hu was full of idiots that didn't understand the reality of what they preached and pretended to know, and I quit a semester in.

Surya, by chance, asked for my help finding his wife, Kaliska. Though I did eventually locate her, he never once talked to her, or tried to reconnect with her. Instead, he offered me help purchasing an office and setting up shop. And somehow, I got into the business of taking in stray kittens, and turning them into lions.

Really, maybe Zuko Vanston was no different than them, in a way. And while I'd admit, to myself, that maybe I'd been being a little unfair to him, due to things that had been done and over for years, I certainly wouldn't to his face.

Still, it wasn't too late to try and make this case a bit more comfortable to work on. I just needed to talk to him, I thought. Really talk to him, not just hi, good morning, here's your stack of paperwork for the day, see ya.

"See you tomorrow, boss," Sure Shot called, turning off the lights in his office and heading for the door.

"Have a good night," I called back. I paused, sensing throughout the building for a moment. "Hey, Sure Shot!"

"Yeah?" he called back from the door.

"Where'd Vanston go?"

"He's in the back," Sure Shot answered. "He said he'd gotten done with his paperwork for the day, and wanted to work on something else."

Something... else? Hmm. Maybe he'd found another, real job. "Okay," I called. "Sorry."

"No problem."

"You going to _The Red Dragon_ tonight?" I asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "It's Bullet's birthday."

Ahh... of course it was. Late August. I always forgot everyone's birthdays, usually being too wrapped up in work to remember even my own. Hmm, I'd just turned twenty three, actually.

"Wish him a good one for me."

"You can always _come_," Sure Shot suggested.

"I've got a mound of crap to do."

"Sure," he snorted. "I'll tell him. But you know he'll be upset if you don't come."

I sighed. "I'll see." I had to figure out what to do with Kitten before I went out anyway. Preferably, I'd get him home first. He probably didn't much care for bars, anyway.

"Fine enough. Have a good night, too." A quiet click, and Sure Shot was gone. It was eerily quiet without anyone else in. Well, if I was going to go talk to Vanston, now might be a good time, when it was just us here. No other distractions or things to be concerned about. Just us, and all these things we'd never really dealt with before now.

I sighed, tidying my desk. I tried to keep it mostly cleared, and I did a pretty good job. Since paperwork was lost on me, the only things cluttering up my desk were my ashtray, cigarettes, lighters, models and hunks of metal, several awards, and whatever evidence I had that happened to be related to the case I was working on at the time. I stood, shuffling to the door, snagging my coat and fedora, and closing the door. Sure Shot said he'd be in the back, so, to the back it was.

* * *

**I** made my way to the back rooms easily enough. As I got closer, I could hear the sound of gunfire. Very clumsy gunfire, but gunfire nonetheless. Judging by the clumsiness of the shots, it wasn't anyone that was a real threat, so, I didn't hurry. Once I got closer, I sensed that it was Vanston firing those shots. Hmm.

I rounded a corner, quietly opening and closing the door to the shooting practise room. He didn't hear me, so, I set my jacket and fedora down, listening instead. While the shots were loud, I wasn't entirely paying attention to them. I'd been in enough shoot-outs, I'd gotten used to tuning the sound out. I was paying attention to his vibrations, his movements. Watching him, in a sense. Apparently, he'd decided he wasn't taking 'no' for an answer on the teaching him to shoot, and had decided to teach himself. While he could do it, as he was a relatively quick learner, I'd figured out, it was a much harder way of going about things. Yet, that was my own fault, wasn't it? For turning him down without even the courtesy of actually turning him down.

Mm. I tilted my head slightly, noting something off about his stance. And the way he'd turned his head... was he closing one eye? Hmm. Common newbie mistake, of course. After one more misfire, I shook my head, shuffling over to stand just beside him, behind a little bit. Hell if I wanted him shooting _me_.

"You're standing wrong," I mentioned. He nearly jumped out of his skin.

"I... oh, I am?"

"Yes," I answered. My tone was calm, and not abrasive like it usually was. It seemed to confuse him. Well, I could understand why. I tapped the back of his left boot with my foot. He was favouring his right, so I was assuming his right hand was dominant. "Move this one forward slightly, and move it so your feet are shoulder-width apart."

He looked down, doing as I said.

"Good, now, make sure your right arm is almost completely straight, and your left bent slightly."

Once again, he adjusted according to my instructions.

"Better." I reached over, feeling where his hands were. "This one goes down slightly," I mentioned, pulling the gun up slightly in his grasp, and giving him a stronger one. "You'll need to brace the first hand with the second hand, don't grip the gun with it, but steady the gun, and align your thumbs. Make sure both of them are out of range of the hammer. Okay, when you fire, aim slightly downward, make sure your target is aligned with the top of the front sight post," I tapped it, to make sure he knew what I meant, "and keep both eyes open when you actually fire." I stepped backward several feet. "Try."

It took a few seconds, as he was aligning his aiming, and then he slightly lowered the gun, and fired. "... whoa."

"Not quite so off any more, are you?" I asked.

"No," he replied. "Thank you."

I went quiet, raising my head slightly. "I like a guy with a backbone. Deciding to learn on your own shows me you're not a complete wuss."

Zuko snorted. "I don't think I can afford to be one. I never really was, though."

"Depends on your viewpoint," I replied. "I'll see if I can't get Bullet and Blue Eyes to keep teaching you. You're a quick learner, they'll make a good shot out of you yet."

"I'd appreciate that."

I went quiet again, for a bit, thinking. He fidgeted nervously. "So," I started, "Bullet's birthday is today."

"Is it?"

"Yes," I answered.

"Well, wish I knew that earlier, I would've -" He paused, fidgeting again. "Uh, okay maybe done nothing."

I snorted. "They're having a birthday party for him at _The Red Dragon_."

"Oh, that's neat." He paused again, before adding, "Have we met before now?"

I was quiet for a few seconds, but I shrugged.

"Because you're eerily familiar, and I swear I've met you before."

"I've met a lot of people," I replied, a nice non-committal response.

"Right," he said, turning to stare at the floor.

"We should go home," I said.

"Yeah, probably." He flipped the safety back on for the gun, putting it back where he found it, and grabbed his things. I snagged mine.

"Everyone else is gone already," I mentioned.

"Ah, that explains why it's so dark."

Ha, I guess it did. I led the way down the hall, to the side, where we came up from the tunnel. "I'll tell you this," I started, pausing. "We have met before. If you don't remember, it's just as well, because I won't tell you where we met or when. Maybe you were having a bad day, I don't know, but I do know you said some very nasty things to me the last time I spoke to you. And I haven't quite forgiven you for it, but I'm willing to put it behind us."

Zuko was quiet for a few seconds, presumably attempting to figure out where he knew me again. "I can live with that."

"Good," I answered. "So, nice to meet you, Sparky."

The confusion was evident in his tone. "You too, Miss Badger? Sparky?"

I snickered. "All my boys have a nickname. You're no different. Congratulations on growing out of Kitten." Or at least, I figured it was worth a congratulations.

"I didn't mind it," he answered, sounding amused.

I just flipped the last of the lights off, locked the door, and bent the tunnel.

* * *

**Notes:** It's happening. You know, when my characters do the thing where they toss me unplanned plot devices and backstory I didn't expect, and random wrenches. Yeah. Um, this whole we already know each other thing Zuzu and Toph got going on, that was not planned for. Lol they were not supposed to know one another at all. Anyway. I keep having to stop on this for a while, because I've never written in this genre before, so I want to make sure I'm getting it at least mostly right.

I also have an AT&T natural voice reading these back to me as I go along, because it's easier to catch mistakes if I'm hearing it aloud, and lemme tell you, they do **not** have enough emotion for this fic. LOL Or its all in the wrong places, like its slurring is. And when did 'metal' become 'mehtahl'? Bite me, mechanical voice. At one point, it got slurry enough, it sounded like it had a touch of a Scot accent. O.o


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